University Senate leader Ben Givens to retire

The longtime leader of the University Senate at The Ohio State University is retiring.

Ben Givens, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, is leaving his role as senate secretary as he retires from the university after nearly 33 years as a faculty member.

Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. honored Givens’ tenure last week at the senate’s final meeting of the academic year. The president noted his “incredible legacy” in helping to usher Ohio State through the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating other big changes, including adding staff as voting members of the senate in 2019.

Givens said he’ll miss his regular contact with bright, interesting people – including serving as an adviser to three university presidents – and the senate’s role in having “a 360-degree view of the university.”

“It really has kept me young,” he said.

The University Senate is the shared governance body that helps Ohio State function as a unified institution. Faculty, students and staff work with university administrators to develop and modify policies and solutions for important issues facing the university. Senate membership consists of 71 faculty, 41 students, 24 administrators and five staff members.

Many of the university’s issues that eventually go to the Board of Trustees for approval first go to the senate.

Givens has led the Ohio Faculty Council and the association of senates for Ohio’s 14 state universities, and was an active participant in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. He did this while teaching students and conducting research in his focus area of behavioral neuroscience.

The son of a history professor at Bowling Green State University, Givens joined the faculty at Ohio State in the fall of 1991. His first two decades were focused on research and teaching; in the last 10 years, in the interest of giving back to the university, he sought service outside of his department and became more involved in the University Senate, first with the Athletic Council.

Givens served as a trusted adviser to presidents over his seven-year leadership term, helping to relay faculty sentiments on important topics of the day.

Some university senates do not allow students, staff and non-tenured faculty to join as voting members. Givens is proud of Ohio State’s more inclusive shared governance model and how the different groups work together to make the university better.

“Through shared governance, you feel like you’re making a real difference in the direction of the university,” he said.

Carter announced that Jared Gardner, the Joseph V. Denney Distinguished Professor of English and director of the popular culture studies program, will succeed Givens as secretary of the senate. Gardner joined Ohio State’s faculty in 1999 and has served three terms in the University Senate.

He starts June 1, and Givens retires on June 30, when he and his wife will spend more time at their cabin in Virginia.